About Me, Me, Me, Me

Don't panic, there aren't four of me...but I didn't have a picture of me on my website so I thought a fairly accurately airbrushed and highly contrasted image would look perfect.

I started stitching when I was very young having being influenced by my Mother, who embroiders. Growing up, my Sindy dolls had some pretty fantastic outfits (considering that was in the 1970s). At school, I didn't do too well at dressmaking (my Mother having taught me far too many naughty short-cuts for my teacher's liking) and so I left all that behind and went off to work in Film and Media, ending up working for Disney. Although this helped me release my Inner Princess (being so close to a Disney Store), starting a family saw another change in direction and let me to the door of wonderful Textile Artist Maggie Grey. I was given the opportunity by Maggie to join the Workshop on the Web team and built up my skills working my way up to Features Editor and work in commissioning the articles, reviewing books and exhibitions and reviewing new and exciting products coming on the market (and a few that are gathering dust in the back of the cupboard). Workshop on the Web is no more but has morphed into the equally fabulous WoWBook (which is reviewed in my Book Reviews section) so I now have more time to focus on my own textile and mixed-media work.

I joined the newly-formed Common Thread Artists in 2016 and took part in my first proper exhibition and have started to teach the odd workshop at The Open Door in Berkhamsted. I am still doing Book and Exhibition Reviews on this website and am hoping to add some more Product Reviews again once I tidy out my work space (no holding breath waiting for that one - I am notoriously messy). With so much going on, the Sindys now look on jealously as I stitch and paint but am far too busy to knit them a jumpsuit with my French Knitting Dolly.